Multitasking
by PotatoMasheesh
Summary: "I'm fine, Kirigiri-san… I'm just a little.. tired, that's all." "If you need help with anything, don't forget that you can ask me for some assistance." (Non-Despair AU. Naegiri. A two-shot (make that three-shot) that can stand alone but you may also read my other fic "Sugar Cookies" beforehand as this story kind of continues from there.)
1. Chapter 1: Are you okay?

Just a week ago, Naegi was thoroughly scolded by none other than the Super High School Level Detective for nearly losing her dog. Today, Kirigiri's mind had wandered away from the ongoing lecture to wondering whether Naegi was alright. The detective deduced that she must've been too harsh on him since he hadn't talked to her at all this week. She supposed that she should apologize, but every time she decided to, Naegi would either one, excuse himself and leave, or two, he had already left earlier. Kyouko found it hard to believe that he would be that scared of her. Even though she could come off as cold and intimidating, she was sure that she hadn't caused Naegi any sort of trauma. They were quite close after all, and he was one of the few people who could approach her without much hesitation. He could just be preoccupied with something else.

The detective turned her head to the left to look at Naegi. Just from observing his black-rimmed eyes, his posture, and the way he scratched his head in confusion, she could quickly deduce that he was exhausted and preoccupied. And of course, like the detective she was, Kirigiri would find out what was bothering the boy.

* * *

After class, Naegi immediately left the classroom to get to work on time. Everyone knew he worked at a bakery on the weekends, but only one other person knew of his other job. That person was none other than Sayaka Maizono, the girl who suggested he try being a waiter at a maid café, of all places! A week and three days ago, he had just asked the Super High School Level Idol if she knew any part time jobs that paid well and then… that was that. He tried looking around for any other place, but to no avail. The lucky boy thought it was ridiculous at first, but Maizono-san insisted that it wasn't that bad. After the week had passed, he had realized that it was just like being your regular waiter, except you had to call people 'master', memorize a few difficult recipes, and wear a strange uniform, which resulted in a higher pay for the effort of doing so. Regardless of that, everything else was just pretty normal and his co-workers were really nice too. So it wasn't all that bad.

Naegi knew another job besides the one at the bakery would be putting too much on his plate, but he was determined. He was never a workaholic nor a good multitasker, but he had decided to take on two jobs since his because he wanted to get something special to make it up to Kirigiri-san. (And also her birthday was sort of coming up in three weeks—not that he was keeping track of it everyday, okay maybe he was– but Naegi knew how fast three weeks could go by.) The luckster also knew that she wasn't mad at him anymore, but the luckster felt responsible for what happened to Mochi-chan. If someone else other than Pekoyama-san found Mochi-chan, bad things could've happened to her, trained dog or not! Naegi absentmindedly thought while fixing his hair, his ahoge nowhere to be found after applying the strong hairspray his manager had given him. (He had no idea that there was a hair product that could actually keep his ahoge down until just last week. The luckster bought five cans with the money he won from a lottery immediately after discovering it.) Naegi's manager wanted his hair to be less rowdy, as he put it, so that it wouldn't end up in the food to be served. After one last check, the luckster headed out from the changing rooms to the cafe.

"Makoto, great to see you." His co-worker greeted with a nod. At work, they were all on a first name basis, except for the manager, of course.

"Great to see you too, Ikki-san. Heading off early?" Naegi inquired. They usually had the same shift on Mondays and Wednesdays but he seemed to be ready to leave.

"Unfortunately, yes. Something important came up. Sorry to leave you all alone while you're still adjusting. Anyway, one of my regulars is here. Can you attend to her for me? Thanks." With that, his co-worker had immediately left and Naegi changed his attention to the customer he had mentioned.

"Welcome master, what would you like to have today?" Naegi said loudly as he briskly walked towards the customer who had just taken a seat.

"I'll have my usual— Naegi-kun?" Crimson eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar classmate.

* * *

"Maizono-san, have you seen Naegi-kun?" The detective inquired. Once again, the Super High School Level Lucky student was missing yet again. Kirigiri internally scolded herself for looking away from Naegi's direction a minute before the bell rang. She didn't think he could get out of his seat that quickly.

"Well, he did pass by me a while ago. He looked like he was in a hurry, so I didn't want to bother him." Maizono replied with a knowing look on her face. Although Kirigiri was able to pick that up, she couldn't pinpoint why the idol had such an expression before swiftly concluding that Maizono must know something that she doesn't and it didn't look like the idol was going to tell her what it was anytime soon.

Kyouko then decided that she would just find out some other time as she had other matters to attend to. As she headed her usual way home, she spotted something peculiar from the corner of her eye. _Is that... Naegi-kun?_ She wondered as she slowed her pace. Lavender eyes had scrutinized the figure's back as he was serving none other than Celes-san. The lolita wasn't hard to identify at all, but the rather small figure handing her a cup of tea seemed to have the same body type as Naegi's, but the detective wasn't sure enough to conclude that it was him. After all his ahoge, the most distinctive feature he had, was nowhere to be found. But if he was working there, that could explain him being so busy all the time… But at the same time, she didn't think it was like him to take on that kind of job. Either way, the detective couldn't do much about the matter for now as she was just called to help solve a case.

* * *

"I was not aware you worked here, Naegi-kun." Celes nonchalantly stated as she was served her order. Her face, however, did not reveal the surprise she felt when Naegi served her regular order. She was impressed that he knew what to serve her despite it being the first time she had ever encountered him at the cafe.

"Well, I just kind of started this month, and I'm usually on a later shift, my master… But I wasn't aware that you were the regular Ikki-san was talking about." The boy replied, finding it somewhat strange to be calling his classmate 'master.'

"Speaking of which, do you know where he went?" The lolita asked after taking a sip of tea. She hummed shortly after tasting the drink, impressed that Naegi had brewed her drink perfectly. He would definitely make a good servant, the lolita mused.

"An emergency came up so he called me up to take his shift today. Anyway if you have no further inquiries on Ikki-san, may I please take my leave now, master? I must serve my other masters as well." Celes covered her mouth and giggled in amusement seeing how different Naegi looked and acted while he was on the job. With a slight nod and smile, she had dismissed the boy, but not without asking him for his work schedule, which he had so kindly disclosed with her after a few convincing fabrications despite the fact that the cafe disallows employees to disclose their schedule to outsiders. Once Naegi had left, she allowed herself to be immersed in her own thoughts. A small yet playful smile graced her lips when the idea she had thought of not long before Kirigiri had passed by appeared in her mind once more.

* * *

"Celes! Do you wanna come with me to the cafe later today?" Maizono asked loudly as she approached the gambler immediately upon entering the classroom.

"A little excited, are we? But, I don't mind." Was her reply. Celes then covered her mouth to giggle in amusement. Her giggle was not directed to the idol, but it was directed to the detective sitting a few seats across her. Only a few would notice, but Kyouko was listening in to their conversation.

"Of course I am! They say that there's this new recruit whose just super cute! I wanna see him!" The idol feigned excitement. She and the gambler had come up with a little plan the other day since the pair had noticed the detective's concern for Naegi. If Kirigiri wanted to know where the luckster went after class, then why not? After all, she might be able to get a reaction from the detective. That would definitely worthwhile, Celes mused. Maizono believed that wasn't very likely, however. But Celes believed, or at least wanted to believe otherwise.

The gambler had noticed that Kirigiri had been paying attention to their conversation as soon as Maizono entered the room. All she had to do now was to get her into the conversation.

"Perhaps you might be interested in joining us, Kirigiri-san?" She smiled as she directed her gaze to the detective. Kyouko had already seen this coming from the way that Celes' gaze fluttered to her every now and then and so she wasn't caught off guard and was able to answer in her usual stoic manner.

"No, I'm not-" Before Kirigiri had a chance to finish her response, the idol butted in.

"Oh come on Kirigiri-san, it's going to be great! I heard their cafe has some of the best coffee- they call it Luwak coffee, I think… But hey, I'll even treat you if you go with us, so come with us Kirigiri-san~!" And simply because of free- not to mention, free _luxurious_ coffee, the detective had been defeated. Kyouko sighed in acceptance. It wasn't like she had anything better to do later anyway.

"Alright, fine." The detective said flatly in response as she wondered about the true intentions of the pair.

"Splendid! Meet with us later by the campus gates. I'm certain that you won't regret it." Celes stated in a mischievous tone. It was unlike her, Kirigiri noted. Her tone usually sounded more... condescending. The two were definitely up to something, but Kyouko would find out what it was that they were scheming. She was the Super High School Level Detective for a reason.

"S-S-sorry!" A loud yet nervous voice had said suddenly. The three girls had turned their heads to see Naegi on the ground in front of a very annoyed Togami.

"You imbecile! Look where you're going!" The heir snapped back as he adjusted his glasses.

"Sorry ma-Togami-kun.." The meek boy said once more and quickly got up then went to his seat. Celes and Maizono smiled mischievously at the same time; it was as if they had their actions planned. Kirigiri raised her brow, intrigued at what Naegi had almost called Togami and at the actions of both Celes and Maizono. The detective then looked over her shoulder to speak to Naegi who sat right behind her.

"Are you alright, Naegi-kun?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Kirigiri-san… I'm just a little.. tired, that's all." The luckster said slowly while he was evidently losing focus. He was evidently paler today as well, Kyouko noted.

"If you need help with anything, don't forget that you can ask me for some assistance." The detective offered. She had told this same sentence to him on multiple occasions and recently, that was how most of their conversations ended due to Naegi dozing off after nodding in response. This time, however, she was mildly surprised to get a response from the boy.

"Yup, I'll keep that in mind.. You're a great friend Kirigiri-san…" He mumbled out before his head loudly slammed onto the desk.

The detective, after a while of observing whether he was still awake or breathing since had simply nodded back in response despite the fact that he wasn't looking and turned her gaze towards the board as the class was about to begin. She opened her notebook and readied her pen, but her thoughts still drifted towards Naegi. Her thoughts were suddenly cut short, however, when she felt something carding through her hair. She slightly turned her head to see what was touching her hair and wasn't very surprised to see that it was the luckster who was playing with her hair. He was the only one who was physically close enough to reach her hair anyway. But before she could ask why he was touching her hair, Naegi started to mumble softly.

"You have very, very soft hair… Can I keep touching it, Kirigiriii-saaan?" The boy yawned as he said the detective's name. The detective reddened slightly at the compliment, but allowed him to continue. She reddened even more when she had seen the joy on the luckster's face. Kyouko quickly turned around to face front so that he wouldn't see her quickly reddening features despite the fact that she knew that he wouldn't be able to remember what happened due to his drowsiness.

* * *

AN: If anyone has noticed, this is kind of a slight sequel to Sugar Cookies, but this story can also be read on its own without any problems. This is going to be a two-shot and it'll hopefully be done by October or earlier. Feedback is greatly appreciated and thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Oh, hi!

As soon as the bell had rung, Naegi had suddenly jolted awake. The boy realized that he was probably asleep throughout the whole class and it had already ended without any teacher noticing him fast asleep on his desk. As amazing as that was, the luckster didn't have the time to treasure his little achievement. He stretched his arms forward and as he looked as his hands, he noticed that Kirigiri-san's hair was entwined around his fingers. He swiftly removed his hands, careful not to accidentally pull on the detective's hair. As soon as that was done, he picked up his backpack and quickly stood up and approached Kirigiri.

"I-I'm sorry for touching your hair Kirigiri-san!" Naegi suddenly apologized and bowed as he knew that she didn't exactly like it when people invaded her personal space.

"What are you apologizing for? You asked if you could and I let you touch my hair." The detective replied coolly, waiting for his response.

"I-I did?" The luckster quickly stood up straight. His eyes widened and his face reddened.

"Yes you did. In fact it was manipulative of you to just-" Before Kyouko could finish her sentence, Naegi decided to speak up before his brain could process the information properly. He didn't mean to do such a thing! Why couldn't he remember what he did? Now he definitely had to make it up to Kirigiri-san! The luckster's thoughts were a mess as he yelled an apology.

"I-I'm very s-sorry Kirigiri-san! I didn't mean to manipulate you in any way!" His voice boomed across the room and it redirected all of their classmates' attention to the two of them. Kirigiri's cheeks had turned the slightest shade of pink as she had accidentally put the both of them in this rather embarrassing situation. She was only supposed to tease him to get a reaction. (Any reaction from the luckster as he always looked adorable anyway, and he looked even cuter when he was confused... Not that she would ever admit that to him or to anyone, for that matter.) From the corner of her eye, she could see Asahina and Maizono snickering whilst Togami had the most scandalized look on his face.

"I was only joking, Naegi-kun. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." The detective tried to say as smoothly as possible to mask her embarrassment. After saying that, she had exited the room as if nothing had happened, keeping her stoic expression in tact… Or at least she hoped that it looked that way. Naegi, on the other hand turned redder than ever. Shortly after that, he quickly realized that he had to get to work and so he clumsily excused himself out.

* * *

When Kirigiri was nearing the gates, she didn't expect to see Maizono and Celes there ahead of her, especially because knew that she had left earlier than everyone else. The gambler's gaze was on the approaching detective while the idol was busy answering a call. The detective, despite her curiosity to know how exactly the pair got there ahead of her, decided that it wasn't that crucial to know and dismissed the thought.

"Now then, shall we go?" Celes had spoken up immediately after Kirigiri had dismissed her earlier thoughts. The detective simply nodded in reply. She was quite impressed that the lolita could read her, but expected no less from someone like the Super High School Level Gambler. She did have to read her opponents' thoughts in order to win after all.

"My driver should arrive right about…" Maizono said as she walked closer towards them, placing her phone back in her bag. When she had stopped walking, she continued her sentence.

"Now." She said and smiled as a car behind her had suddenly come to a stop. Kyouko blinked once, twice, and then sighed in acceptance as she followed behind the idol and the gambler to get in the car.

* * *

Besides the various food and drink options that Maizono had kept talking about on their ride to the place, Kyouko did not find the maid cafe they were going to appealing. It was just basically a normal cafe that charged a higher amount because of the 'high quality' service their staff would provide. The idol also added that the servers looked adorable, while the gambler told her that the waiters would follow your every whim, but Kirigiri could care less. The detective thought it was impractical; the most notable difference with the servers in a maid cafe would be their costumes, and that didn't really do much to make their services better or more efficient. In fact, Kirigiri figured that the servers would have a harder time moving around due to their uniform. But Celes insisted, telling the detective that she had to experience being there first before making any judgments. Kyouko had to agree with her as the gambler did have a point, however, and so, the detective decided to just wait and see everything for herself.

When the trio had arrived at their destination, the large double doors, which were made out of glass and had various designs engraved on it, were opened by two of the servers who had politely beckoned them into the cafe. The female server had bowed and dismissed herself in order to serve the other customers while the male server had attended to them.

"Here is the table you've reserved, Miss Celestia. Please take your seats, my masters." The tall man with silver hair said courteously as he pulled the chairs back to let them take their seats.

"Thank you, Ikki-san. However, I recall that you weren't the butler I requested today." The gambler said and smiled at him.

"I am well aware, my master. Your butler will be with you shortly." Ikki replied curtly as he bowed and left to attend to the other customers.

"To know the servers that well and to request for one… I wasn't aware that you could do that. You must go here often, huh? I've only been here a few times myself.." The idol said as she turned her gaze from the waiter that had just left to Celes.

"Yes, I do go here quite often after school. Their royal milk tea is simply divine. Although about what you had mentioned earlier, you only can request a server when you have a reservation."

"Why would you go to such lengths of reserving a table and a server?" Kirigiri inquired as she observed her surroundings. She knew that Celes did have her preferences, but paying for an additional reservation fee along with her order simply cost too much for one meal. Though the detective knew Celes was wealthy, she still thought it was quite impractical to do so. To add to that, the cafe was quite far from the school so it wasn't very convenient to just go here. Before Celes could answer her question however, a new voice had spoken up.

"I apologize for my delay, my masters." He paused for a moment and some shuffling could be heard. The detective could already tell that it was their requested waiter, but she did not bother to turn her head to face him as she was focused on taking in and observing everything else around her first while waiting for the server to stop talking so that Celes could answer her inquiry. She had ignored the fact that the waiter's voice sounded somewhat similar to Naegi-kun's as the possibility of him actually working here when he already had a job was quite low. However, it was still possible so she didn't completely rule that out from her mind. Though, that would actually explain why he seemed so busy all the time.

"Here is our selection of dishes and beverages. Please do take as much time as you wish to choose your order, my masters. Once your selection has been made, you may use this bell to call my attention so I may take your orders. Enjoy your stay, my masters." Kirigiri, after her brief observation, had switched her gaze to the requested server who was currently bowing, head facing the ground as his back was slightly bent. Lavender eyes widened slightly as she realized that it was Naegi-kun who was serving them. Although, it did take her a while longer than usual to recognize him because his ahoge was nowhere to be found and his the way he presented himself seemed a lot more… confident. He was speaking very clearly and without even a single stutter just a while ago. Even if the detective wasn't fully paying attention to him, she was still able to catch bits and pieces of what he had said.

At that point in time, Naegi decided to raise his head while he was still bowing, readying himself to stand up and serve the other customers. However, this action had accidentally aligned his face to Kyouko's. Their gazes met and Naegi couldn't control the redness spreading across his face. Kirigiri was caught off guard by his action and slightly blushed as well. Naegi's ears burned at their closeness; it was like the world had slowed down for a moment. The luckster always knew that Kyouko was beautiful, but it was even more evident now as he was able to see her up close. His brain had gone completely haywire at this point. Just a while ago, he tried his best to muster all the confidence he could because he was about to serve Kirigiri-san, but now he was too stunned to even move.

Their little staring contest ended however, when Kirigiri had looked away and coughed. It took all of the detective's willpower to stop staring at him and she wasn't exactly sure why it was so hard to. She normally wouldn't have any difficulties when it came to distancing herself from others, but Naegi seemed to be the only exception. Kyouko could already tell that she treated him differently from the others. She had realized from there that she had a growing crush on Naegi, which was frustrating to discover since she seemed to not have control over her emotions as she usually would. But now, it was getting even worse. The detective could only hope that she would be able to control her emotions better in the future, but that didn't seem very likely.

"I'm sorry for causing you discomfort, my master." Naegi said as quickly and as professionally as he could when his brain started to function somewhat normally again. He then excused himself so that he could serve the other tables. So much for luck, he mused.

While Kirigiri was pretending to scan the menu that was handed to them to see if anything was to her interest, Maizono spoke up. "Naegi-kun's just so adorable, isn't he?" Kirigiri took her eyes off the menu that she wasn't able to read, and then tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. She knew that what the idol had said was directed at her, but the detective refused to acknowledge it. Celes, on the other hand, smiled at Maizono.

"He is quite attractive in that ensemble, I must admit. I believe he would also do a fine job at being an actual butler… Ah, but he would need some more training." The gambler replied.

"I'm guessing he went up a rank in your books then?" Maizono smiled as she inquired.

"Perhaps he has... But I'm curious as to what you think, Kirigiri-san. You've been quite silent this whole time." Celes covered her mouth with her hand after speaking and giggled slightly into it as she anticipated the detective's reply.

"I guess so." She simply stated, feigning indifference. Celes was almost as, if not, just as sharp as Kyouko, and so the detective had to tread carefully.

"I didn't think detectives made guesses." Was the gambler's reply as her smile grew.

"Your question was subjective, therefore an exact conclusion for that wouldn't be possible." Kirigiri answered as she crossed her arms.

"Then what do _you_ think, Kirigiri-san?" Maizono inquired as she leaned forward. It was at that moment that Kyouko concluded that going with them was definitely a bad idea, especially now that their intention was made clear and the pair made no move to hide it. Luckily for the detective, her phone rang just in the nick of time, interrupting the whole conversation as she excused herself and then went outside of the cafe to answer her call.

* * *

"...Right now, I don't have much details on it yet, but the information I have on it is quite… worrisome. If you're busy today, you can come by the office tomorrow and I'll give you the files." A deep and husky voice could be faintly heard from the phone. Despite the fact that this was her boss that she was speaking to, Kirigiri disliked the fact that he usually said more than what she thought was necessary, but this time the detective was thankful for the distraction.

"I'll drop by tomorrow. Thank you for informing me, Mr. Kirijo." Was Kyouko's brief reply.

"Thank you for your continuous work, Detective Kirigiri. Your talent in the field is much appreciated, and I'm sure you know that." Mr. Kirijo had said before ending the call. Kirigiri then put her phone back in her pocket and walked back to the cafe since she had journeyed all the way to the back of the cafe to take the call.

"I really can't thank you enough for this— " Naegi's voice could be heard from a short distance. The detective leaned back until she had come in contact with the wall near her and crept closer to the source of Naegi's voice.

"Don't mention it Naegi-san. Although, I believe you should keep quiet about where this came from. It was… quite difficult to get this." Another voice, a woman's, Kyouko supposed, replied.

"Really!? I'm sorry for the hassle, but thank you so much senpai! And I'm also sorry for assuming that Kuzuryuu-senpai was your boyfriend a few weeks back.." The luckster answered timidly. Kirigiri cocked her head to the side to peer at who Naegi was conversing with. The luckster was conversing with a school mate, the Super High School Level Swordswoman. While that shouldn't be much of a problem, it was quite concerning. Kirigiri had recently discovered that she used to be a hitman for the Kuzuryuu clan, and what she had just told Naegi-kun sounded rather... strange. Also, what was the item she handed to him? She wondered as she crept closer to see better. Unfortunately for the detective, however, she was unable to see what the swordswoman handed to the luckster as he held it behind his back.

"You're welcome and don't worry about it, that was just a simple misunderstanding and you were in a hurry… Anyway, I must go now. I have some more errands to run." Kirigiri truly wasn't expecting Naegi to be speaking with the Super High School Level Swordswoman. She was a year higher than them and she was also known to have a cold personality, which was somewhat similar to her own personality. Kyouko was quite astonished that Naegi could make friends with just about anyone. Although with his bright personality, she shouldn't be so surprised.

"Ah Pekoyama-senpai, same time next week?" Naegi suddenly inquired. Kyouko's curiosity was piqued. _What was he talking about?_ She mused while she continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Of course… I'll be there. Thank you for reminding me, Naegi-san. I'll see you then." Pekoyama said as she turned around to leave. Kirigiri briskly left the area and went back in the cafe to avoid arousing suspicion. While she was entering the cafe, the detective couldn't help but to wonder why they would see each other again, presuming that they had gotten together the week before that based on the luckster's words. Were they… _dating?_ Kyouko's eyes slightly widened at her own thought, but she quickly dismissed it as soon as it came in her head. The idea made her feel… jealous, but she had other things to attend to, and she was just Naegi's friend to begin with. She wasn't supposed to feel jealous.

While she was away, Celes and Maizono had already ordered for her and informed her that they would pay for the order as it was her first time there. Other than the frequent playful jabs and teasing that the pair would subject the detective to, Kyouko, in the end, found out why Celes loved frequenting the cafe. Other than the service, which was excellent— and it was not only because Naegi-kun had served them, all of the staff on duty were very polite and always attended to their customers' needs quite well. In addition, the Luwak coffee and blueberry cheesecake that the pair had ordered for her was, exquisite, in the detective's opinion. Kirigiri noticed that Maizono giggled while Celes had an amused glint in her eyes when Kyouko's facial expression had completely changed for a fraction of a second after taking a sip of the famous Luwak coffee. The detective noted that unless they were observing her closely the whole time, they shouldn't have noticed that. But then again, she should have expected that after being invited so suddenly despite not being too close to the both of them.

* * *

When Kyouko arrived home, she didn't expect to feel this tired just from dealing with both Celes and Maizono. She knew they weren't as oblivious as her other classmates, but their minds were far sharper than what she prepared herself for. Despite the fact that they did tease her quite a lot since they knew how she felt about a certain luckster, they did seem somewhat… supportive of the idea of them being together, which was strange since Kirigiri thought that the idol was interested in Naegi. She also recalled that Celes once stated that she wanted nothing to do with men in a romantic sense while staring right into her eyes. And if that wasn't a sign of interest in her, then what on earth—

Sighing at her jumbled thoughts that she had forcibly stopped from continuing, she shucked off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack. The detective then greeted and pet her dog that was obediently sitting down and happily wagging its tail. A smile graced Kyouko's features as she did. The husky always managed to brighten up her mood. Kirigiri then decided that she would take her mind off of unnecessary things for now as she had homework to complete and cases to investigate. Time didn't stop for anyone after all.

* * *

AN: Soooo I kind of wrote this in a rush of happiness because of the hope arc and so much ideas came into my head and sooo this will extend with one more chapter! Hooraay (actually chapter 2 just became way too long and i decided to split it and because im not done editing last part of the chapter, I'll probably publish it by later or tomorrow.)

So yay, and other than that, I'd really appreciate it if you guys would give me feedback on how I write the characters (especially Kirigiri because I don't think I give justice to how amazing her character is) so yeah, feedback, may it be positive or negative is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Chapter 3: Strength

9:00 PM.

It wasn't too late at night when Kirigiri decided to take a short breather from all of the multitasking she had just done. Though she wasn't entirely content with her current progress, she felt exhausted. Her dog, Mochi, could tell as well. The husky was sitting down on the ground, adjacent to her. Cerulean eyes seemed to beg her to stop working. She stretched her arms out and stood up slowly so she could get something to drink. But before she could even approach the mini fridge across the room however, the sound of keys clattering on the ground could be faintly heard from the outside. Was someone trying to get into her room? With that in mind, the detective approached the door cautiously as she turned the knob. When Kyouko opened the door halfway, the person on the other side managed to slip into her room and collapse on top of her bed. Unsurprisingly, Mochi-chan barked at the sudden presence of someone else, but it sounded more of a friendly bark. At least Kyouko was aware that whoever came into her room wasn't a threat. The detective then decided to pick up the keys that had fallen earlier and closed the door. After that, she turned around to see the intruder.

As much as she wanted to feel the least bit of shock from the luckster who was snoozing on her bed, she couldn't. With his clumsy and careless nature, she knew him mistaking her room for his own would happen eventually. Their rooms were right beside each other, it wasn't unlikely that this would happen. What she didn't expect was for him to fall asleep so quickly. His bag and an elegant looking paper bag, which was probably the item that Pekoyama had given him earlier, were messily placed by foot of her bed. Naegi's tie, which he had probably removed and threw away as he slipped into the detective's room hung on Mochi-chan's snout. The dog seemed slightly disturbed by the piece of cloth on its snout, but kept it balanced there anyway.

While Naegi's things were scattered everywhere, the luckster himself was even more of a mess. He laid on his back in his disheveled work uniform, his hair was a mess and his ahoge could be seen defying gravity once again, and the bags under his eyes made him look like a panda. She sighed and approached the sleeping boy so that she could at least put him in a better position so he doesn't wake up uncomfortably. With a prominent blush on her cheeks, Kyouko had taken off the luckster's vest and unbuttoned the two topmost buttons of his long sleeved shirt so he would feel less restricted. Naegi exhaled and groaned immediately after she had done so, making Kyouko quickly move and look away from the luckster. The detective tried her best to ignore the deafening sounds of her pounding heart by beckoning for Mochi-chan, she ruffled the dog's fur to calm herself down. After that, she handed the vest to the husky and pointed at a basket in the corner of her room, signaling the dog to drop off Naegi's vest and tie that was still perched on her snout there. Mochi obediently followed as Kirigiri proceeded to carefully lift Naegi to a more comfortable position.

It really only took a few minutes for the detective to do move the luckster, but it had felt like an eternity. Kirigiri's face was red and her heart was pounding due to her proximity to the object of her affections. She was so close to him that she could feel his breath brush her cheeks. She was just thankful that the boy was too tired to stir from his slumber. She would probably die of embarrassment if Naegi saw her face this unguarded and red. While her being in love with a boy was probably the most normal thing she'd done as a high school student, she would honestly rather deal with other things. Things she had better control of.

* * *

12:00 AM.

Kyouko reached her limit and was about to fall asleep on top of her work until a voice had spoken. "Kirigiri, I-I..." Naegi's faint voice had jolted the detective awake. She quickly cocked her head to look at the boy. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she realized that the luckster was still fast asleep. Although, it did make her wonder. _Why would he mention my name in her sleep? Was he thinking of… me? Did he… possibly like me back? Wait, but he could possibly be seeing Pekoyama…right?_ Various thoughts swirled around Kyouko's head.

The detective sighed tiredly once more. While that was a possibility, she knew that she shouldn't let that get to her. She was distracted enough just by his presence. She also had a lot of other things to do, but fatigue was probably getting to her by now, which made her thoughts more irrational the more she tried to stay up and do work. With that in mind, the detective decided that she needed to get some rest. She slowly got up from her seat and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

* * *

12:20 AM.

Kyouko was just about to leave the bathroom until she heard a sudden loud clatter from the other room.

"Mochi-chan!? What are you doing here?!" Naegi's loud voice could be heard. A friendly bark from the dog could also be heard in reply. The detective decided to turn the knob and open the door.

"Naegi-kun, I believe I should be asking you that." She said smoothly as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Based on Naegi's position on the ground, he must've fallen off from the bed, which caused the loud clatter, the detective mused. Mochi-chan, upon seeing her owner, approached her and lied down near her feet.

"Ki-kirigiri-s-san.." Naegi's head quickly snapped towards the source of the voice. He quickly reddened at the sight of Kirigiri. Not only was he in the wrong room, he immediately realized that was in Kyouko's room of all places! How could he have mistakened his room for hers?! His room was a dump compared to her room! To add to his embarrassment, Kirigiri was just clad in a thin, black nightgown that ended above her knees and he couldn't take his eyes off her because she was just _so_ gorgeous and he didn't know that she looked _so_ amazing in a ponytail and—

"Naegi-kun," He was brought back to earth when the detective repeated herself. She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear after she spoke, allowing for the crimson hues that had begun to blossom on her face become more evident. She was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the luckster currently slack-jawed and staring right at her. It wasn't that she was disgusted with him, it was just that she didn't know how to respond to his reaction. The same question she had asked herself had popped right back in her head. _Could he… possibly like me back?_

"I-I, er, um… I'm sorry Kirigiri-san! I guess I was tired and um, well, this happened. I'm... really sorry Kirigiri-san, for everything." He muttered all of a sudden and hung his head, looking at the ground like a sad puppy. _Kirigiri-san must really be mad now.._ Naegi thought to himself.

"It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for.." Kyouko replied and paused momentarily when Naegi's gaze slowly moved from the ground to her eyes. When their gazes were locked to each other, she decided to continue. "I understand that you were tired and that's why I let you stay here when you came in. But, I believe that I should apologize too." Kyouko looked away from him while emerald eyes widened.

"Apologize? For what, Kirigiri-san?" Naegi wondered. She had done nothing wrong, after all.

"I let my emotions get out of hand when I got mad at you for losing sight of Mochi-chan. It was quite unreasonable for me to do so. I had already requested you to look after her, and you did your best. You must've been exhausted, Naegi-kun." Kirigiri had crossed her arms and switched her attention to Mochi-chan, who was looking right at the detective while wagging its tail. Naegi's eyes widened even more for a moment out of disbelief. She sounded so much more different; she was so much more _open_ with him now and it was amazing to Naegi. The detective was willing to share this much with him. The luckster's chest swelled with pride; Kirigiri _trusted_ him. A wide grin spread across his face as his thoughts sunk in.

"You really don't have to apologize, Kirigiri-san. I mean, if I had a dog and it had almost gotten lost, I really wouldn't know what I'd do!" Kyouko looked at Naegi after that. His infectious grin made her return a small smile back in return. Kirigiri walked towards him and offered a gloved hand to help him stand up. The luckster took the detective's hand and stood up with her assistance.

"Naegi-kun?" The detective spoke up as soon as Naegi was standing up properly.  
"Hm?"  
"Why do you have two jobs in the first place?" While Naegi was relieved that Kirigiri wasn't mad at him and that they were on good terms, he still wasn't sure how he could answer her question without giving away his true intentions. But he knew that he couldn't hide anything from the detective, nor did he want to upset her by lying, so he decided to just tell her the truth, like he always did.

"Well, I, uh.. I wanted to..um..get you something since I almost lost Mochi-chan and I made you feel really uncomfortable a while ago, and... your birthday's coming up in a few days, right? Soo, I thought I, um, could get you another gift for th—" Naegi's eyes widened when he bit his tongue. He also blushed when he realized that he had said too much. He only intended to tell her that he wanted to get her a gift to apologize! The birthday gift was supposed to be a surprise! His head whipped away from Kyouko's direction out of embarrassment.

"Naegi-kun," The detective said in a level tone. Naegi quickly looked back at Kirigiri, and to his surprise, he could see a hint of pink on her cheeks.

"Thank you... I appreciate your generosity, but you shouldn't overexert yourself just for that. Your health is much more important than getting a present for me." Kyouko continued and smiled a bit at the luckster. She was grateful for Naegi's generosity, even though she thought it was unnecessary, but he truly was sacrificing too much just for a simple gift. In fact, he didn't need to give her one in the first place.

"Yeah… I guess I did overwork myself a bit, ahaha.." Naegi replied. He looked away from her and scratched the back of his head. His head was turned towards the wall clock that indicated that the current time was 12:35 AM. _12:35!?_ Naegi internally yelled.

"Wait, you're wrong!" Naegi quickly looked back at Kyouko with an intense look in his eyes. The detective was slightly taken aback by his sudden outburst and it had showed on her face.

"You're the one who's overworking! It's 12:35! What are you doing up so late? You should be getting some rest too, Kirigiri-san!" Naegi continued, nearly yelling out of concern for the detective who blushed at his thoughtfulness for a moment before her face went back to a slightly neutral expression.

"I couldn't sleep with you occupying the bed, Naegi-kun." Kyouko said and crossed her arms.

"I-I, uh… right… sorry." Naegi realized that her lack of sleep was partly his fault as well, but that was completely accidental!

"But the bed's big enough for two people, though… you could have just, you know, slept beside me.." The luckster blurted out his thoughts and immediately regretted it. Both Kirigiri's and Naegi's cheeks were turning as red as tomatoes. The two of them were pointedly avoiding each other's gaze.

"...While I could have done that, Naegi-kun, I couldn't since I was still busy working on a case." Kirigiri replied.

"I guess... we're just both busy with a lot of things, huh?" Naegi said, trying to ease the tension as he moved towards his backpack that was by the foot of Kirigiri's bed.. Kirigiri followed his movement with her eyes.

"I guess we are, Naegi-kun." The luckster didn't reply as he was searching for something in his backpack. Once he finally found what he was looking for, he raised it up and handed it to Kyouko.

"Here you go. They're—"

"Bojobo dolls." She finished for him as she looked at the dolls, silently wondering where he got them from.

"Yeah, you can position them to make a wish, but I guess you already knew that, huh?" Kirigiri nodded in reply to the question.

"Are you... giving this to me?" She asked neutrally.

"Yeah, like I said, I, uh, wanted to apologize to you with a gift…" Kyouko said nothing as he spoke, the volume of his voice becoming progressively softer as he struggled to continue. Naegi felt like hiding himself in a hole forever. _Of course Kirigiri wouldn't want something like this! What was I thinking!?_ The luckster thought to himself.

"How did you know… that I wanted this?" She asked, her facial features showing a hint of shock.

"Huh?" Naegi was flabbergasted.

"The dolls remind me of the time I went to Saipan a few years ago.. I've actually been looking for these. Thank you, Naegi-kun." She said and looked at Naegi with a small smile. He could feel that she was genuinely grateful, which caused him to smile and blush again for the umpteenth time that night.

"You're welcome Kirigiri-san!" He beamed at her happily as he handed the dolls to her. Kyouko noted, much to her fascination and mortification, that his expression almost resembled Mochi-chan's when she wanted to go on a walk. She always had a weak spot for anything that was cute… Kyouko silently hoped that Naegi wouldn't request for anything impossible from her in the future because she wasn't so sure if she could refuse him.

"So, what are you going to wish for?" He asked out of curiosity. Kyouko turned her attention back to the dolls that she held. The detective then approached her desk and then laid out the dolls on it to position them. Naegi stood beside her and watched as she crossed the male doll's left and right hand together, as well as the female's.

"Strength?" He wondered aloud when he saw the position of the dolls. Kirigiri nodded and hummed in agreement.

"With all the things we're doing, I believe that we both need the strength to keep going." Kirigiri said while she looked around her room, finding an ideal place to hang the bojobo dolls.

"You're right about that, Kirigiri-saaan…" A yawn escaped the luckster's lips as he replied to the detective. Kyouko giggled slightly at that.

"I guess we should both be getting some rest." The detective concluded.

"Yup, we really shooouuld…" Another audible yawn is heard from Naegi. The luckster paused for a moment so he could rub his eyes and grab his things. "And I guess I should go back to my room now, Ishimaru-kun would be really mad if he found out that I wasn't in my room yet." Kirigiri simply nodded in reply. The luckster gives the detective a lopsided smile before he turned around to go to the door and leave the room. Before leaving however, an idea had suddenly sparked in his head. Naegi spoke up and looked back at the detective.

"Hey, Kirigiri-san… Are you free this Thursday?" Kirigiri thought about what he said briefly before replying rather bitterly as she remembered the luckster's conversation with the swordswoman earlier.

"Aren't you already going to meet with Pekoyama?" Naegi's eyes widened. _How'd she know about that?!_ After gauging the luckster's expression, the detective looked away from him and spoke up once more in a rather angry tone.

"I didn't think you were the type to cheat, Naegi-kun." _WHAT!?_ Naegi was internally screaming. It wasn't anything like that! Kirigiri completely misunderstood the situation! This wasn't going according to plan at all!

"I-I'm not! I'm not even going out with Pekoyama-senpai!"

"Then what—" The luckster interrupted the detective with all the confidence and courage he could muster.  
"She orders a box of sugar cookies for Kuzuryuu-senpai every week and we meet on Wednesdays so she can pick them up!" Naegi shouted quickly. Kyouko's eyes widened at what he had said. She turned around and breathed, trying her best to compose herself once more.

"So… um, now that everything's cleared up, uh-"

"One question, Naegi-kun." She turned around to face him, pinkish hues evident on her usually pale face.

"What is it, Kirigiri-san?" He asked as he instinctively tilted his head.

"What did Pekoyama give you?" She asked as she tucked her knuckles under her chin, looking at the elegant paper bag that the luckster held.

"Um, I can't tell you what it is… Why don't you find out what it is on Thursday?" Naegi grinned as he looked at Kirigiri. He finally steered the conversation back to the right path. Did he finally have the upper hand for the first time?

"Is this your way of forcing me to go on a date with you, Naegi-kun?" Piercing lavender eyes stared into emerald orbs. The luckster immediately lost his confidence upon hearing the detective's words and struggled to speak coherently.

"A-a-a-a DATE?! N-N-no! I-It's nothing like that, and and I-I would never force you to anything like that, Kirigiri-san! I just wanted to um-" Naegi was rendered speechless when he felt something soft touch his cheek. The luckster's eyes widened when he realized that Kirigiri kissed him! On the cheek! His brain and heart then decided to abandon his body. There was simply too much going on; there were too much things that the poor luckster couldn't process all at once. The detective's expression was smug when she stepped back, but the prominent blush on her cheeks had shown that she wasn't all that confident. She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear and began to speak.

"I'd be glad to go out with you on Thursday, Naegi-kun. It's quite nice of you to remember my birthday. Not a lot of people— oh." Kirigiri wasn't able to complete her sentence because a loud thunk had interrupted her. An in-vitro rose had come rolling out of the paper bag that had suddenly fallen to the ground. Kirigiri pretended not to see it. In addition, the person she was talking to had also fallen.

Naegi had fainted.

Kirigiri wished for strength.


End file.
